Sue Sitter/PCT Rugby Police Chief John Rose speaks to the Rugby Senior Citizens’ Club, March 14.

The Rugby Senior Citizens’ Club heard a familiar message from Rugby Police Chief John Rose at its monthly meeting on March 14.

“If something seems too good to be true, there’s probably something wrong with it,” Rose said.

Rose spoke at the meeting to share tips to help seniors identify scam attempts and stay safe.

He alerted club members to several scams going around the Rugby area lately. However, he noted, “There are a lot of things going on out there. There are a lot of scams.”

Scams that can be easier to identify involve demands for payment gift cards, especially from scammers claiming to represent law enforcement or another government agency.

Rose said scammers use tactics meant to frighten or evoke emotion in people so they won’t think clearly. Some scammers have begun to pretend to be with law enforcement agencies, demanding money from their victims and threatening to arrest them if they don’t pay.

“A lot of times, they’re threatening arrest. They’ll say they have a warrant to arrest you if you don’t pay,” Rose said.

He said anytime law enforcement needs to contact a resident, “We will come to your house.”

Some victims will follow scammers’ instructions to purchase gift cards, and worse, not to tell anyone why they’re buying the cards. Then, victims give the gift card information to the scammers.

Fraudsters use many methods

“If you use your credit card (to pay a scammer), sometimes that credit card company will protect you from fraud. Or if you send a check, sometimes the bank will protect you against fraud,” Rose added. “But, once you send a gift card and give them the gift card number, that money is gone. And there’s no getting it back.

“Another one that’s kind of coming and going is a tech support scam,” Rose said.

Rose explained hackers can post popup messages on websites warning that users’ computers have viruses.

“The message will say, ‘Call this number. So, you call this number and you get someone who says they’re Microsoft tech support, and it’s a call center in Bangladesh. They will be on your computer; you’ll open your computer to them and they’ll show you that they deposited money in your bank account. They’ll tell you they refunded you, but they’ll say, ‘Oh, I should have refunded you $500 and I refunded $5,000 instead.’ They didn’t put $5,000 in your account. They altered your computer to make you think they did that.”

Rose said the hackers would then ask their victims to pay them the “excess” amount in store gift cards. In reality, no refund or deposit had ever reached their victims’ accounts. The hacker had created a phony bank webpage.

However, when victims allow scammers access to their accounts, or pay the “overpayment” in gift cards, their money will indeed disappear.

“The recurring theme is they’re asking for gift cards or something that you aren’t normally going to pay with,” Rose said.

Sometimes, scams come and go.

“There are all kinds of versions that you may not hear about for five years, then they come back again,” Rose said.

“There will be calls from a prince from Jamaica who wants to give you a bunch of money or something like that,” he added.

Other scams take advantage of people selling items online. Scammers will send more money than the items for sale cost, then ask for the “extra” funds back. The scammers use bad checks or phony account information to pay for items, leaving the sellers with overdrafts in their bank accounts and their property stolen.

Rose also advised the seniors to avoid opening strange emails or texts, especially if their devices’ installed antivirus programs detect problems.

“Don’t trust your caller IDs,” Rose added, noting scammers often “spoof” numbers, or use fake phone numbers to hide their identities.

Rose said several new scams have taken advantage of the recent COVID pandemic, claiming to “sell” vaccines or tests or offer extra stimulus money from the government. Rose predicted scammers will likely claim to be charities raising funds for war refugee relief in Ukraine next.

Other scams involve fake websites claiming to be local businesses selling dogs or cats. The sites list street addresses that don’t exist and ask for money in advance, sometimes thousands of dollars.

Rose said online scams often target younger people rather than seniors.

Rose provided general information to keep seniors safe on the phone.

“If it feels strange, hang up,” Rose said. “Don’t engage in any conversation. Don’t let them give you a rebuttal. Don’t let them try to convince you. If you get a call that’s a robo-call and the message says, ‘Press 1’ or ‘Press 2,’ don’t press anything. By pressing 1, you’re telling them that your phone number is a good number.”

Rose also advised seniors not to give any personal information to strangers by calling them on the phone.

“Don’t give them your name or date of birth, family names,” Rose added.

He said other scammers pretend to be banks asking for account information.

“A lot of scams right now are coming from Wells Fargo,” he noted.

Rose advised seniors to check the email addresses used by the senders to see if they truly come from their bank.

Rose asked the group to share stories of any strange calls or emails they had received.

One woman said she had received a recorded phone call from someone claiming to be with the United States Border Patrol about a strange package in her name.

“I’m sure he was going to ask for some kind of money, but I hung up,” said the woman.

Identity theft also a problem

Rose said sometimes people receiving items they hadn’t ordered could be victims of identity theft, which happens when a criminal opens a credit account in another person’s name. “It’s constant,” Rose said of recent criminal activity. “If it’s not a scam, it’s identity theft.”

Another club member told the group how he had become a victim of ransom ware that locked up his computer and demanded $150 to unlock it.

Rose said scams often come from foreign countries such as Jamaica, Nigeria, and India. He noted law enforcement had extradited scammers from Jamaica to prosecute them in North Dakota.

“But each region has their own scams,” Rose added. “It’s constant.”

One group member asked Rose how to tell if a phone call wasn’t a scam. Rose said law enforcement usually shared messages via news outlets and social media. He told the group local law enforcement uses a reverse 911 system to inform the public about civil emergencies.

“It gets to the point where legitimate business gets tricky because people question everything,” Rose added. “If you get a call from your bank, it may be legitimate. You’ll have to get in your car and go to the bank and ask what’s going on and do it in person.”

Verify stories

before sending money

Another member shared how her family member had been taken for $20,000 when a scammer pretending to be her grandchild said he was hurt and needed her to send the money right away. The victim had used a cashier’s check to send the money, which went to the scammers.

“The money is gone,” the member said. “(The victim) said he sounded so real. He sounded like he was really hurt and she just panicked and went and got it.”

Rose said people in that situation should call their grandchildren or grandchildren’s parents to verify stories about injuries, arrests, or other emergency situations.

“Hang up on it,” Rose said. “Say you’ll work on it. Call those relatives. Call their parents. Make those calls. If they tell you not to do it, make sure you’ll do it.

“We’ve had people close to sending money (for ’emergency’ scams),” he said. We had people come to our office with money all packed up, ready to send it who’ve said, “I’m going to call the parent, and sure enough, it was a scam.”

Rose said scammers use techniques “like high-pressure sales” to take advantage of their victims.

They do this all day,” Rose said. “They make 5,000 calls a day. If they get 100 possible (victims), they work them. If they get one to work, then they’ve made their living for the day.

Rose reminded the group that law enforcement officers with warrants to arrest people wouldn’t call them.

“They’ll just show up at their house,” he said. “We don’t let people know by phone we’re going to arrest them.”

Rose said people with questions for law enforcement about scams should call the Rugby Police Department’s non-emergency line at 776-6112.

“Anytime it’s an emergency, though, call 911,” Rose added.